My bathroom turned into a M*A*S*H Unit!

[VonMises1881]

And the sad thing is it all started out so well. Nice Proraso lather, 1947 Super Speed, Personna Red with only one shave under its belt. So far so good. In fact, I was about a third of the way through the shave when something strange began to happen. Cut after cut after cut. Blood, loads of it. I began to panic a little. "What the heck am I doing wrong?" Then it began to snowball as I was trying so hard to not cut myself that I started overthinking it and making things worse. At one point I almost quit but I soldiered on as much of my plasma ended up in the sink. And then... then I noticed. The twist to open mechanism had worked its way open just a bit. The razor was wobbly and clearly not working the way it should. Apparently in all that lathery goodness I must of nudged it a few times with the palm of my hand and set off this whole unfortunate chain of events.

Several questions here.

Has this happened to others much?

Is there a name for this mental lapse?

Short of checking my razor every few strokes is there a way to avoid this? I see no way to adjust the razor but I'm open for any help.

My face hurts nearly as much as my pride.

 

[Tom Ford]

Yuuup, and Yup. Happened to me Monday, toward the end of my shave I was j-hooking and I cut myself up pretty badly, only to realize the bottom fastner on my Merkur HD had become loose and the blade was rattling around. I'm still sporting a pretty descent cut that's continuing to weep right next to my jugular.

Not sure what its called on the forums - mods maybe able to assist, but my personal phrase/name for it is - dinted pride disorder (DPD)

Chin up, providing its still there and soldier on. I've been told by plenty of women battle scars are sexy.

 

[TheHatter]

Has not happened to me (yet - knocks on wood), so no real good suggestions. This "Red Green" fix popped into my head while reading this post though - might run a strip of duct tape (or the much smaller black electrical tape) around the twist to open knob to keep it in place if it doesn't like to stay tight on it's own.

 

[luvmysuper]

And the sad thing is it all started out so well. Nice Proraso lather, 1947 Super Speed, Personna Red with only one shave under its belt. So far so good. In fact, I was about a third of the way through the shave when something strange began to happen. Cut after cut after cut. Blood, loads of it. I began to panic a little. "What the heck am I doing wrong?" Then it began to snowball as I was trying so hard to not cut myself that I started overthinking it and making things worse. At one point I almost quit but I soldiered on as much of my plasma ended up in the sink. And then... then I noticed. The twist to open mechanism had worked its way open just a bit. The razor was wobbly and clearly not working the way it should. Apparently in all that lathery goodness I must of nudged it a few times with the palm of my hand and set off this whole unfortunate chain of events.

Several questions here.

Has this happened to others much?

Is there a name for this mental lapse?

Short of checking my razor every few strokes is there a way to avoid this? I see no way to adjust the razor but I'm open for any help.

My face hurts nearly as much as my pride.

Oh, it happens more frequently than you'd think, but not to the same person twice.

For me it just is a little habit that with every rinse in the sink, a little "twist check" on the way up. Snug it down good before you start and you shouldn't have a problem, but do a little check once in a while during the shave just to make sure.

We're going to have to come up with a name for this affliction.

 

[mdunn]

its the kind of mistake you only make once. Just make sure its nice and tight when you start and you should be fine.

It may be that theres a mechanical fault in your razor that it cant keep tight, but it was probably a one off.

 

[wedwards]

my goodness man, i got all shivvery just thinking about going back again and again only to draw out more claret into the sink....!

nowhere in the manual does it say you have to martyr yourself to get a good shave....but the good thing is that you at least know what it is now, so if it happens again you will know what caused it, and to stop before you krueger yourself again.

 

[Fnord5]

Ya know, if you switch to a straight razor, it will never get loose like that.

 

[Topgumby]

Many of us have had a screw loose at one time or another.

Don't worry, though...no blood, no foul.



I mean, er, you caught it in the nick of time.


Well, you know what I meant.

Twist it tight and there should be no problem...if it is coming loose during the shave after it's tightened down, you may have a mechanical issue with the razor.

 

[luvmysuper]

Ya know, if you switch to a straight razor, it will never get loose like that.

Yes, you can bleed profusely and won't even be able to blame the razor. LOL

 

[rm71]

That is a familiar story. My TTO knob loosened and now I have a scar on my right cheeck

 

[Fuzzy]

Remind me to take my copy of "The Wealth of Nations" out of the bathroom and replace it with "The War On Poverty"

 

[michiganlover]

I am not sure what you are shaving with, but at least on a Slim Adjustable, "fully tight" is another 1/4 turn beyond what would appear to be the stopping point. I am sure this is a fact missed by many new wet shavers.

Fortunately for me (or perhaps unfortunate as the Slim is regarded as incredible) I have yet to use my Slim.

 

[lohrm1]

I came close the other day but caught it before there was any damage. Live and learn I guess.

 

[Nozzlejocky]

I had one open on me during shaving once. Not a pretty site. But I was lucky and figured it out quickly; only a little damage done.

 

[82R100]

You can be pretty bold in initially tightening the TTO knob on these. I haven't seen any reports of stripped threads.

That's really the way to avoid it. As has been said, it seldom happens a second time...

- Chris

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

I have only used a DE twice so don't put much stock in my oh-fer 2 record.

However, the TTO knob on my Feather Popular DE is located directly underneath the head at the top of the the handle. I assume yours is at the bottom of the handle since you think you may have nudged it with the palm of of your hand.

Perhaps this design difference will keep me from experiencing your pain in the future.

 

[ateace]

I haven't used TTOs very much, but I did gash my lip with a razor like the OP, a 48-50 SuperSpeed, as I was...rushing...through my shave before going out with the family for Easter.

I walked into CVS with a blood-soaked Kleenex over my upper lip. The only styptic they had was the large Clubman one - at the over-a-barrel price of $5.00.

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Wow, that's a tough story. Makes me cringe, all the people this has happened to. My TTOs seem to lock down nice and tight when I tighten them up. I hope this doesn't happen to me. I hate cutting myself almost as much as I hate shaving with an electric razor!

 

[40_Caliber]

These threads are always better with pics!

 

[dpmtherrien]

If I find that I'm getting knicked several times during the same shave I just get rid of the blade. Its either bad from the start or its somehow gone bad between shaves. I take good care of my razors so just changing the blade usually solves the problem.